Which one is more beneficial to longevity, walking or running?
Walking is the most popular form of exercise in the world for many reasons. It is simple, easy to do, and easy to achieve results. Regular walking can reduce anxiety, relieve anxiety, and reduce the risk of diabetes and certain cancers.
However, as your body gets used to walking, you’ll likely have to pick up the pace, explains Alyssa Olenick, an exercise physiologist at the University of Colorado’s Energy Metabolism Laboratory.
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During the journey, even if you just run for a short time, you can achieve the same physical and mental benefits in a shorter time. But do the benefits of running go beyond walking?
When evaluating the health benefits of walking or running, you can look at two factors. The first is how it improves your cardiorespiratory efficiency. The second is the most extreme effect, that is, can it make you live longer?
The standard for evaluating cardiorespiratory efficiency is maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 Max), which is the maximum amount of oxygen consumed by tissue cells when you exercise intensely. Allison Zielinski, director of the Brahm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, said VO2max is also an important predictor of lifespan.
A 2021 study of two thousand middle-aged men and women showed that instead of sitting still for too long, even the smallest amount of activity, such as a slow walk throughout the day, can increase your maximum oxygen uptake. But the benefits of picking up the pace are greater.
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Why is running better than walking?
Duck-chul Lee, a professor of physical activity epidemiology at Iowa State University, said running is more efficient.
Oleinik also said that running actually covers a series of jumping movements, which require more strength, power and energy. People who are new to running can try running at any speed, even slowly, because this is enough to exercise the heart and lungs.
Then, you can slowly increase the intensity, approaching the level of strenuous exercise, so strenuous that you can’t even speak complete sentences.
Health guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, or half of that amount upgrading to strenuous exercise. This also means that it will probably take a lot of running to reach the intensity recommended by the guidelines.
Running can achieve life-extending effects in a shorter time
As for the benefits of exercise on longevity, some studies have also found that running is more effective.
In 2011, researchers such as Wen Qibang of the National Institutes of Health found that regular running for 5 minutes has the same life-prolonging effect as walking for 15 minutes. Subjects who ran regularly for 25 minutes and walked regularly for 105 minutes could reduce their risk of death by 35% in the next eight years.
Research from the National Institutes of Health shows that if you run, you can achieve better health and longer life in a shorter time.
Although Professor Li Dezhe is a supporter of running, he said that walking and running can be regarded as a continuous process of activity, and those who did not exercise at all initially and then slowly started to move can best appreciate the benefits of exercise. benefit.
In other words, getting moving is the most important thing, followed by consistency. A little more advanced is to add at least a little high-intensity exercise, such as strenuous exercise.
Researchers have previously pointed out that it is a myth that running will definitely hurt your knees. Oleinik suggested that whether you are a new runner or an experienced runner, starting from slow to fast, and from low intensity to high intensity can reduce sports injuries.
For those who are running on the road for the first time, or those who want to get back to running, you may want to try the following steps:
Step 1: Increase the pace
If you are someone who does not exercise originally, try walking 3,000 more steps a day, and then walk at least several days a week.
Step 2: Slowly increase the speed
Walk briskly for 10 minutes three to four times a week. Then slowly increase the time until you can last an hour.
Step 3: Start running gradually
After your heart and lungs become stronger, you will find that you need to speed up your pace to reach moderate exercise intensity. You usually don’t notice this change in yourself until one to two months after you start exercising. At this point, you can start adding intermittent running.
You can warm up with 5 minutes of brisk walking first. Then run for 1 minute and walk for 3 minutes. Repeat this cycle 3 to 5 times.
Step 4: Try to keep running
Every 1 to 2 weeks, increase the time you run and decrease the time you walk until you can run consistently.
People with heart disease or other chronic illnesses are advised to consult a physician before performing the above steps.
(Source: NYT, National Library of Medicine)
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● For more information, please see Issue 790 of Tianxia Magazine“My insurance policy has shrunk”
2024-01-15 06:18:15
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